Public commenter urges Junior Bees program be open to all Bayonne residents

At the Bayonne Board of Education meeting on May 20, a public commenter identified only as Sharon urged the board to make the Junior Bees community education program available to all Bayonne residents, including children who attend Catholic and other private schools.

Sharon, a public commenter, said the program — which she understood was a theater program tied to Bayonne High School athletics — should not be limited to students enrolled in the public district. "These are children of our community," she said. "I feel it should be open to everybody because they do have the potential to come here to this school and quite honestly they may be enticed to come to the school." She asked the board to consider eligibility based on residency rather than school enrollment and noted she did not know whether program funding came from community education funds or another source.

The request cited the board's long-running community education concept, noting the district has "adopted and promoted the community education concept since 1975," and argued that opening participation could both serve residents and attract students to district programs. Sharon also highlighted student success at Bayonne High School, naming several students and noting seven girls received Division I athletic scholarships this year.

The transcript records Sharon's appeal during the public-comment portion of the meeting; there was no recorded board response or formal action on the request before the meeting adjourned.

No vote or administrative direction on eligibility for the Junior Bees program was recorded during the session.